IMF European chief resigns at crucial moment in crisis

The International Monetary Fund's European chief resigned last
night, dealing a blow to the fund as European leaders continue to
disagree over how to fight the debt crisis.

Antonio Borges, pictured top, who was director of the IMF's
European Department since November 2010, cited personal reasons in
his decision to step down, effective immediately.

IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, intends to appoint
British-Iranian Reza Moghadam, pictured bottom, currently director
of the fund's strategy policy and review department, as Mr Borges'
successor, effective today, the fund said. It provided no further
details on Mr Borges' decision. A Portuguese national, Mr Borges is
a former Goldman Sachs vice-chairman in London who had served as
chairman of the Hedge Funds Standards Board prior to joining the
IMF.

Last month, Mr Borges suggested publicly that the global lender
could buy Spanish or Italian bonds alongside the eurozone's bailout
fund. He then quickly backed away from the idea, saying the IMF
could only lend its funds to countries and could not intervene in
bond markets directly.

The IMF said Mr Moghadam would be replaced in his strategy,
policy and review job by Siddharth Tiwari, currently the IMF
secretary.